Cross
Platinum Member
I think I have it figured out. A sniper's life was pretty short in the 20th century. In order to get a shot at an enemy and pick off an officer they had to put themselves in positions where they were vulnerable to other snipers and fire from ordinary soldiers. Vietnam snipers like Hathcock and Mawhinney operated close to the enemy and lived in the field for weeks with meager supplies. I'm not taking anything away from snipers in Iraq and Afghanistan. They lived pretty well in comparison to other conflicts but they performed an important duty in a war without uniforms. A jihad suicidal enemy could be considered a civilian with the stroke of a computer key if the media was inclined. The Pentagon was well aware of the Seal's Hollywood reputation so if they were placed in a position where civilians were the targets it might be more palatable to the news media and liberals if Seals pulled the trigger and not regular Soldiers. Why Seals ended up on patrol in the mountains is anybody's guess. Maybe we should ask the CIA.
Ask SOCOM or the Marines about the mission planning for Luttrell, not the CIA, Regimental Marine HQ came up with the Operational Plan, hence the SEAL contingent, they were tasked for S&R only, a classic SEAL COIN mission against insurgents....They were ambushed...shit happens... The Special Operations helo that was shot down was the Quick Reaction Force, Support for the SEAL team on the ground...the timely launch of the QRF was delayed by SOCOM...